[shrivz]

Hey Folks!

Bought her in Nov 2005. She's a 2000 model and I'm the third owner.
She's done about 98000 kms on the odo and a revamp has been long overdue.

I've always oogled at the way a good set of alloys make a car look soo different... So this was the time I decided to save up all my earnings and buy a good set of alloy wheels.

Alloys:

A few weeks back, I went to bombay along with Amey, moralfibre and karlosdeville to get my wheels!

Amey came with his swift to get his ICE install done.

We dropped his car at FM Drive and then proceeded to Milan subway to take a look at wheels available there.

We looked around shops to see if there was anything different which caught the eye, but everyone had the same designs which are commonly seen these days. Didnt find anything appealing, so we decided to head back to Santacruz to Saifee Tyres.

(I had been there earlier with MF and Amey when Amey had gone to buy alloys for his swift.)

Saifee Tyres has a wide range of alloys and moreover, he stocks Lenso alloys unlike most of the shops at milan subway.
I had personally liked the Lenso Samurai's A LOT! and had mentally decided to buy those, if I couldnt find something better. We looked around for a while, liked some patterns but they weren't available. So then I decided to pick up the Samurai's, until the guy at Saifee told me that they were out of stock! Damn!

I really liked the alloys Riju has on his baleno and I remembered the model no. So asked the guy to show me the wheels. Initially, at first sight. The alloys didnt appeal too much, without the tires mounted on them. But I had seen pictures, and they looked beautiful on the car! So the decision was made! 4 x Lenso GTR alloys. I tried for Gunmetal with a Mirror lip, but had to settle with Silver with a Mirror lip.

Tires:
Now it was time for the tires!
I made frantic calls to our in-house tyrewallah none other than iraghava who recommended Michelin PP2s.
Amey too is a Michelin worshipper.

I got down to work out the costing and whoa! Rs. 5600 per tire. (205/50/R15) that was wayyy above my Budget.

So I looked at the Yokohama S-Drive and Bridgestone Potenza G-IIIs
Both were priced the same @ Rs. 4000/- per tire.

It was a tough choice. Made frantic calls to ishan again. He recommended the yokos above the Bridgestones and the decision was made! moreover, the bridgestones had a DOT code which dated back to early 2006, whereas the Yokos were dated early 2007!

Here are Pics of the tires and alloys:
(The pics just dont do justice to them. They look fabulous when they're rolling.)

Before:


After:













Exhaust:

My OE exhaust had given way. The End muffler had broken off the exhaust pipe. The OE end muffler comes as one single unit which includes the Auxillary Muffler, Intermediate Pipe and End Muffler. This one unit costs Rs. 13,500/- at the Maruti service centre! So, this was the best opportunity to put in a FFE!

I contacted Raj Hingorani in Bangalore through some references and he agreed to make the exhaust for me. But there was one problem! Raj fabricates the exhaust headers on the car itself. He doesn't have any fixtures. So I needed a baleno at Raj's garage for making the exhaust!

Then came the saviour! rjstyles69 was kind enough to send his car to Raj for a day for facricating the exhaust! It was indeed a very very kind gesture on his part to have co-ordinated the whole thing, right from giving his car, collecting the exhaust, making the payment, packing it and shipping it!

I was overwhelmed by the help I received from someone who I had just interacted with over the internet and spoken to over the phone!

Riju I owe you one! Bigtime!

My dad just couldn't believe that there was a person in Bangalore who I had never met, who did all this for me!

It is indeed this spirit of Team-BHP which binds us petrolheads together!

Here are the pictures of the exhaust:
I got the Intermediate Pipe and End Muffler Nickle chrome plated and the Headers, Zinc Plated (The Zinc plating was a miscommunication with the plater, this too has to be Nickle chrome)

Headers 4x2x1 Street Spec


Intermediate Pipe which replaces the Catalytic Convertor


End Muffler


The exhaust is fantastic and kicks in in between 3000 - 3500 rpm and stays till almost 6500 rpm.

The best part about this FFE is that it doesn't reduce the bottom end torque which makes it perfect for a daily driver!

A special shout out once again to rjstyles! Really appreciate it buddy!

Please post your comments!

cheersss!
Shrivz..

[Amey]

Wow ! what a detailed post, you have patience man !

The exhaust does sound sweet, kudos to whoever made it,hats off !

Frankly, the pics dont do justice to those alloys, they look waaaay better than what they look in the pics.

Shrivz your ride just got a bit more Hot !

Now could you please get the remaining things i told you done fast ?

[danlalan]

Alloys look great with the tires.. I heard about you guys coming to Saifee tires i think that was a couple of weeks back..got news from pdev.
Your end muffler seem to be too small.. A 3" above end would have really looked good. Car looks great though, very similar to Baleno Powers.
I think the next setup should be tints, charcoal black probably.

[BUSA]

The alloys look awesome.

How much did the FFE cost you.

And rjstyle

[iraghava]

Pappu Singh Vat69 - Good work there! The car looks nice!

And Riju, great work there boss!

[speed0mania]

hey shrivz nice to see someone spending on a car thats done 98k on the odo! usaually you'd see people planning a new car, it just goes to show your love for your car!! great to hear your satisfaction with your FFE!
BRAVO rjstyle!!

[shrivz]

Thanks guys,
Also thanks to praneet71 and EVO6 for recommending Raj for the exhaust work.

@Danlalan: I've been contemplating on whether to put tints or not. It does make night driving a Pain. I'll probably save up for some high quality tints. Any suggestions? BTW, the end is about 2.8" I'll post pics of the install.

@BUSA: thanks, the FFE costed me 8k

@irags: Array thanks to you paaji!

@speed0mania: Yeah, I plan to keep the car as long as she runs.

[moralfibre]

Nice one Shrivz. Loved the report. And Riju you gotta be god send to Shrivz and since he owes you one better claim it fast .

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by shrivz

Thanks guys,
I'll probably save up for some high quality tints. Any suggestions?

as long as you buy tints from a good company like 3m or llumar night driving wont be any more difficult.

[rjstyles69]

Shrivz , a 2000 model with 98k on the odo she still looks wicked and charming dude. Love is all that I can think of .

Congrats on the new set of tyres and alloys. I think you should take more pics at better angles and post 'em up here. You haven't done any justice with the pic's as yet.

Riju I owe you one! Bigtime!

Thats ok man, its all about what you have mentioned

It is indeed this spirit of Team-BHP which binds us petrolheads together!

Am feeling jealous now looking at the chrome plating done on the headers . The end can looks very different and a splendid idea of chrome plating the FFE shrivz.

Your end muffler seem to be too small.. A 3" above end would have really looked good. Car looks great though, very similar to Baleno Powers.

danlalan the whole idea was to retain the stock end can's looks. Doesnt call for unwanted attention from cops.

[shrivz]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Shrivz , a 2000 model with 98k on the odo she still looks wicked and charming dude. Love is all that I can think of .

Congrats on the new set of tyres and alloys. I think you should take more pics at better angles and post 'em up here. You haven't done any justice with the pic's as yet.


Thats ok man, its all about what you have mentioned

Yup I'll take pics soon.

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Am feeling jealous now looking at the chrome plating done on the headers . The end can looks very different and a splendid idea of chrome plating the FFE shrivz.

And the best part is that the chrome plating costs Rs. 400/- for all three.
Since I knew the plater, I got it for Rs. 300/-

[normally_crazy]

Shrivat69,

Nice work on the car. I saw the alloys and they looked wicked ! The FFE finally arrived from Bengalooru - am waiting to take a look and hear it so that I can compare which sounds better - a Baleno with a FFE or a Baleno with no end can.

And RJS - that was so very nice of you to do that. But then these kind of things happen here - after all its Team-BHP

[Dippy]

Nice report Shrivz. I had a first hand experience of hearing the car with no end cam . Now to hear her with the FFE

The alloys looks delicious. Do take some better pictures and post them in your garage. I'm sure you'll get a lot of compliments.

[theMAG]

Shrivz,

Awesome stuff man. Trust me that you're going to enjoy that FFE for a long time to come. Drive her down to Bengalooru the next time you'e headed to Ooty/put up at Bangalore Club, will ya?!

And yes, Riju is currently being nominated for the title of Holy Heart by the Vatican.

[esteem_lover]

Great job riju, there seems to be no end to your goodness. Nice choice of alloys shrivz.